Fanning the Flames: The Freedom Project Blog

11.06.2006

Sifting Through an Election Gone to the Gutter

By Shawn Healy
Given the dearth of positive messages offered by candidates across the political spectrum this election season it has become difficult to make choices beyond determining which candidates are the lesser of two (or more) evils. We certainly have enough reasons not to vote for all of the above, but this election is too critical to sit out given the ballooning budget deficit, broken entitlement programs, and a mismanaged war in Iraq.

As voters we are wanting for non-partisan evaluations of candidate positions, and thankfully Vote Smart has definitively answered the bell by surveying individual candidates and recording their responses (scroll down to National Political Awareness Test Results). Candidates are listed by state, then by level of office (state or federal). Gubernatorial candidates have their own listing. Be wary of those candidates who refused to submit answers in a campaign where voters should demand them...

SHAWN HEALY

Managing Director

McCormick Freedom Project

Shawn is responsible for overseeing and managing the operations associated with the McCormick Freedom Project. Additionally, he serves as the in house content expert and voice of museum through public speaking and original scholarship. Before joining the Freedom Project, he taught American Government, Economics, American History, and Chicago History at Community High School in West Chicago, IL and Sheboygan North High School in Wisconsin.

Shawn is a doctoral candidate within the Political Science Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received his MA in Political Science. He is a 2001 James Madison Fellow from the State of Wisconsin and holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, History, and Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

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About Fanning the Flames and the McCormick Freedom Project


Fanning the Flames is a blog of the McCormick Freedom Project, which was started in 2006 by museum managing director Shawn Healy. The blog highlights the news of the day, in hopes of engaging readers in dialogue about freedom issues. Any views or opinions expressed on this blog represent those of the writers alone and do not represent an official opinion of the McCormick Freedom Project.



Founded in 2005, the McCormick Freedom Project is part of the McCormick Foundation. The Freedom Project’s mission is to enable informed and engaged participation in our democracy by demonstrating the relevance of the First Amendment and the role it plays in the ongoing struggle to define and defend freedom. The museum offers programs and resources for teachers, students, and the general public.


First Amendment journalism initiative


The Freedom Project recently launched a new reporting initiative with professional journalists Tim McNulty and Jamie Loo. The goal is to expand and promote the benefits of lifelong civic engagement among citizens of all ages, through original reporting, commentary and news aggregation on First Amendment and freedom issues. Please visit the McCormick Freedom Project's news Web site, The Post-Exchange at